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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. last — final
  3. saw — the tool
  4. ball — a dance
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. key — for a lock
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. key — in music
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. ball — a great time
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. tube — a container
  15. last — finally
  16. march — the month
  17. key — the most important part
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. march — music
  22. tube — the underground
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. last — to go on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com